This disclosure relates to input methods.
Languages that use a logographic script in which one or two characters, e.g., glyphs, correspond roughly to one word or meaning have more characters than keys on a standard input device, such as a computer keyboard on a mobile device keypad. For example, the Chinese language contains thousands of characters defined by base Pinyin characters and five tones. The mapping of these many-to-one associations can be implemented by input methods that facilitate entry of characters and symbols not found on input devices. Accordingly, a Western-style keyboard can be used to input Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters.
In some examples, an input method editor (IME) can be used to search a dictionary of words to find candidate words that correspond to the Pinyin characters typed by a user. The dictionary can include data associated with the words, e.g., probability scores, that allows the IME to predict the user's intention and to identify and rank the candidates. The IME ranks the candidates based on, for example, probability or accuracy scores, and provides a list of the candidate words to the user in a sequence according to the ranking.